The show must go on: Patti Jo Amerein

Patti Jo Amerein lives a relatively quiet life in rural Columbia County. She rides dressage, keeps chickens, and teaches Pilates. But in the 1980s and 90s she lived another life as a Las Vegas show dancer. The stories she tells about those years didn't stay in Vegas. For someone who met and worked with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammie Davis, Jr. (the "Rat Pack"), that's saying something.

It started at age three when Amerein's mother sent her and her sister to tap dancing classes. From there, she studied ballet and jazz. Before she graduated from Western High School in Las Vegas, she was getting noticed for her talent and skill.

"I have always thought of myself predominantly as a jazz dancer," she said.

One day her teacher told her about a show taking place at the Flamingo Hilton Hotel.

"I didn't want to do Vegas shows," she said. "I dreamed of going to New York and doing musical theater on Broadway."

But seeing an opportunity there, she asked her mother about it.

"I was only 17, and you had to be 18. She said no. Then she asked me how much it paid. I said $375 a week. She said yes. So, I went and lied about my age."

She got a part and did the show. That was followed by a four-month show called City Lights with a cast of 40. That show was still running when a friend told her she needed to dance in "Jubilee!" Held at what was then the MGM Grand (now Bally's), this was a brand-new show at the time and would go on to become the longest-running show in Las Vegas, ultimately closing in 2016. Amerein auditioned and was hired. Barely out of high school, she was already in the greatest show in town.

"Bob Mackie was the costume designer," Amerein said. "He designed wardrobe for a lot of famous actresses, so no expense was spared. The show cost $10 million to produce. Every costume was custom-cut for you, including shoes. They used genuine Austrian rhinestones on everything and real ostrich feathers. It was an amazing experience."

Each two-hour show ran twice nightly-six days a week, including three on Saturday. Monday was the only day off. Amerein danced in this show for two years. Dressing rooms were below the stage in the basement.

"You climbed two sets of stairs-maybe 40 of them-just to get to the stage," she said. Then you climbed up to whatever tier you were supposed to be on for that number, carrying as much as 120 pounds of costuming and headgear. As soon as the curtain came down, you got the hell out of there and ran back down the stairs for costume change. It's a game for the young."

The years that followed saw Amerein performing at London's Palladium Theater for the annual Royal Variety Performance and in Japan with her troupe for a show called A Touch of Vegas which lasted six months. She was one of three lead dancers there.

Back in Vegas, she signed on with the popular Folies Bergere, a French cabaret-style show held at the Tropicana. She stayed in that show for 12 years, where she worked as a dance trainer and line captain. And it was during that time she began raising a family.

"I had never wanted to keep dancing past my thirties," she said. "I had kids, and I was getting interested in horsemanship." So, in 1997 at the age of 34, Amerein mustered out of the dancing world.

It's clear she had an amazing 17-year career dancing. Ultimately, Vegas' loss is our gain. She has taught dance in Dayton and helped to choreograph many shows at our own Liberty Theater.

This story wouldn't be complete without the "Sammie Davis incident."

"I signed on to do a number with him for a TV performance," she recounted. "He needed four dancers. He was singing a song about the features of a beautiful woman. Each of us was picked to represent one of her features­-her eyes, her smile, etc. I was picked for my smile. We decided to play a joke at the dress rehearsal. I was eating black licorice and decided to stick a piece on my front tooth so it would look like I was missing a tooth. So, in rehearsal, he comes to the part about her smile, and I turned to Sammie and gave him a big smile. He saw my tooth and cracked up, laughing. Of course, we had to do another take. That night the director called and said, 'We're letting you go. Professionals don't do that kind of thing.' Well, I cried myself to sleep.

"But the next morning, he called again and said, 'Mr. Davis would like you to come back.'"

Ah, yes. The show must go on.